Contents

Causes

Because the first Phraxchambers were developed in Great Glade, and the phraxmines sold their yields directly to Great Glade, the Great Gladers had a profound economic advantage over Hive. This huge economic advantage led many in Hive to percieve the Great Gladers as thieves. Furthermore, the Great Glade Phraxmine owners maintained a tremendous monopoly over the essential commodity of Stormphrax, elevating prices to the extent of further embittering the already anti-Great Glade sentiment in Hive.

The general population of Hive, particularly the more affluent citizens, eventually felt so threatened by Great Glades economic superiority that Kulltuft Warhammer was elevated to the position of High Clan Chief of the Council of Hive, promising to deal with Great Glade "from a position of strength".

Militarisation of Hive and economic breakdown

One of Kulltuft Warhammer's acts was to begin a rapid militarisation campaign. Hive's sky trade was ruined as stormphrax crystals were seized for the creation of Phraxmuskets and Phraxcannon over consumer goods. Property was seized in order to trade for more Phraxcrystals. Alarmed by this unprecedented militarisation, Great Glade raised the price of Phraxcrystals in an attempt to prevent Hive from continuing its militarisation, the theory being that if Hive's leaders did not stop and see sense, Hive's economy would be ruined. However, this only infuriated Kulltuft Warhammer into further building up the Hive Militia, and Hive's economy was indeed ruined in the process - despite an abundance of food, hundreds of Hivers and their families were rendered destitute by the policy, and were forced to beg for money and scraps of food. The Hivegeld collapsed compared to the Glader, the worth of which increased five times in comparison, and despite the illegality of the practice, shopkeepers in Hive were fully prepared to accept Gladers for their wares rather than worthless Hivegeld. The Great Glade embargo forced the Great Council to cut illegal deals with Phraxmine owners to smuggle Phraxcrystals into Hive, with certain mine employees such as Felftis Brack, secretary to the wealthy and influential Phraxmine owner Galston Prade, going behind their employers' backs to pocket enormous profits from Hive's leaders.

Hive became increasingly illiberal under Kulltuft Warhammer, to the extent that representation in the Great Council was limited to only the Goblins. Cloddertrogs, Shrykes, Mobgnomes, and Fourthlings had no say in Hive's affairs. Due to Warhammer's belief that the Fourthlings' loyalties were only to their relatives in Great Glade and that they were spies and traitors, he blamed them for Hive's economic crisis, and arrested Great Glade nationals. Leegwelt the Mottled, Clan Chief of the Lop-Eared Goblins, was summarily executed by Warhammer himself with the Mace of Hive after he suggested reconciliation with Great Glade and re-extending Council membership. The Hemtuft Battleaxe Legion, which quickly became known as the "Bloody Blades", patrolled the streets, arresting anyone they percieved as traitors and executing them via the process of Barreling. As war with Great Glade approached, all of Hive's males, regardless of age or race, were conscripted into the Militia in the so-called "Great Call-Up", though many rich High Towners were able to escape.

The city of the Midwood Decks, a key stop-off point for Merchant Phraxships travelling between Hive and Great Glade - and hence a strategically-important economic position - became a flashpoint in the conflict. Greeg Kleft's "Pro-Hivers", a group who felt a loyalty to Hive due to the help of Sumpwood Bridge Academy academics building the Midwood Decks into a great city, and Hoathly Hextree's "Free Timbersmiths", who reasoned that Hive would destroy all the Midwood Deck's Sumpwoods and leave the Midwooders to starve, came into conflict on the streets, often leading to an exchange of shots. Both cities looked upon the situation in the Decks with concern, as trade with the city was important to both of them - Great Glade needed a market for its manufactured goods, and Hive needed the Decks' Sumpwood for its military machine. By 650 E.Y, the situation came to a head with Kulltuft Warhammer declaring war on Great Glade and the Free Timbersmiths.